by Bonnie Seely

Sarah Thrush, having skipped her senior year of high school, is now a sophomore at Lebanon Valley College. She is also very gifted musically, well on her way to mastering the piano, organ, and, most recently, the concert grand harp. She demonstrated her talent on Sunday evening, July 16, at 7:00 p.m., in a concert which was one of a series of events planned to celebrate the bicentennial of Shiremanstown United Methodist Church. Her willingness to participate in this event is also a way for her to say thank you to the congregation of SUMC for allowing her to practice on their organ. Four years ago when, at the age of thirteen, Sarah became interested in learning to play the pipe organ, she was faced with a dilemma: where could she go to practice? Joan Hauenstein, long time member of SUMC and co-worker of Sarah’s mother, Barbara, had the solution. Joan convinced the administrative board of Sarah’s reliability and gained permission for her to use SUMC’s organ as a practice instrument. Her time has been very well spent, as anyone who has had the pleasure of hearing her play can attest. The Sunday evening concert began with prayer, given by Pauline Rife, and an introduction of Sarah by Joan Hauenstein, who also read, quite appropriately, bicentennial minute number 16, on the church organ. Sarah, with poise and self-assurance many an older person might envy, took charge at that point, introducing the piece she was to play, and giving some background on the music, the instrument, and her own history, where appropriate. She began by playing five numbers on her 47 string concert grand harp (which also has pedals with which to change pitch if you wish to play in a different key!), and ended with four on the organ. Her harp is new to her, having arrived in April.

The harp selections included "Romance Without Words," by Felix Godefroid; a medley of lilting melodies from Ireland, which included "Avenging and Bright" and "The Star of County Down"; an arrangement by Barbara Fackler of "Fairest Lord Jesus"; selections from "Aquantintes," by Bernard Andres; and selections from "Thirty Little Classics for the Harp," by Mildred Dilling. The selections by Bernard Andres were jazz arrangements written for harp, each piece named after a spice. Miss Thrush played "Vanilla" and "Pistachio." Since, our player assured us, no organ concert is ever complete without at least one work by Bach, she began her performance on the organ with his "Allegro" from "Trio Sonata in C." That was followed by a 20th century piece that was quite different, as, she explained, the period was a time of experimentation. The German title, "Totentanz," means "Dance of Death," and the music was dissonant and unpredictable, contrasting with the harmonic, measured notes of the classical music of Bach. This was followed by the stately and triumphant notes of "Trumpet Tune," by David German, and the very ornate "Finale" from "Symphony I by Louis Vierne. She also let her listeners in on an organists’ secret: Did you know that organists wear special organ shoes, which come in an array of colors, including sparkly red and black? After thanking the congregation for the use of the organ, Pauline and Dick Rife for their cheerful willingness to open the doors of the church for her at a moment’s notice, and her parents, Merrill and Barbara Thrush, for their support and encouragement, Sarah and her audience bowed for the benediction, given by Arlene Wrightstone and adjourned to Fellowship Hall for cookies and punch.

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